KRUG

i stayed home from work today because i am sick.  because of that, i’ve had a lot of time to think (maybe too much).  so today wound up being a day of purging.  or a day of moving on with life.  or a day of letting go of past things and looking towards what could be in the future.  call it what you like.

i deleted my myspace account as well as my ec account.  i cleaned my bulletin board so that it can start fresh and with new ideas, memories, and smiles.  i made a new list of goals and dreams.

those were pretty much all of the physical actions that took place but they symbolized inward emotions and thoughts that needed to be dealt with.  the outward manifestation was a long time coming and needed to happen.

I’m not sure what this means as far as the immediate future is concerned but i do believe that i am on the right track to being happier.

it’s really funny just how true that is.  not that this post is about some earth shattering change of events in my life.  that thought just hit me as very real as i decided to write this evening.

see, i haven’t posted in a while because i was planning on putting together a very large, in depth synopsis of my last major project at work.  we spent the better part of the last two months putting together a ship that was about 8 feet long and 2 feet wide.  with the amount of work that went into it and the transformation from plexiglass ribs to fully painted hull, i had imagined that i would post a long, detailed story of how it all went together complete with pictures at every stage.

now that it’s over, i really just don’t feel like doing it.  :)  the project just doesn’t seem as groundbreaking to me as it was when i started it.  it was fun and i was very pleased with the end result but the way this job works, as soon as one fascinating model is done, there is another one right behind it to be completed.

besides, if i posted everytime i worked on a cool model, we would all get tired of it.

short story is i still love my job and my desk is clean again.

in other happenings, freckles is coming out here to see me in a few days and i couldn’t be more excited!  i don’t have a detailed schedule of what were going to be doing but there is a small list of things that must be accomplished while she is here.  on that list is discussing a friend of hers she is trying to hook me up with.  we also have to find sushi somewhere, watch the matrix, get some friends episodes in, show her my work, stay up late, and sleep in.  it’s going to be an awesome weekend. 

i had my 90 day review at work a couple of weeks ago.  anyone who knows me knows that i am very self critical.  the positives that come out of that are quality work and the urge to achieve perfection in my tasks.  the negatives are that i always doubt the end result of things i do and i live in fear that what i do isn’t good enough for the people who make such judgements.  i feel that i am an asset at my workplace though.  i still feel like i make too many mistakes and work too slow but i am confident that i will grow out of those as time goes on.  i also believe that i have had a positive influence on the environment there.  while trying not to sound big-headed, i have brought an enthusiasm to the place that hasn’t been there in a while from what i can tell.  i have figured out that people seem to shy away from some of the dirtier, more involved projects and i have been giddy with joy when i get them.

i just lost my train of thought.  it’s 1:06 in the morning and i’m kind of tired but i’m waiting for these dvd’s to finish burning.

i was surfing digg videos a couple of days ago when a video title caught my eye and peaked interest immediately. it made reference to a life-size x-wing rocket that someone had built and launched. so i watched it. here it is for you to enjoy.

i was a little disappointed when it broke apart but still gave mental kudos to the builder on the attempt. then this video popped up several days later.

i love creative people.  i really don’t need to say anymore.  by the way, i’m going to blog about my new job either friday night or saturday.

i’m getting the feeling that i’m not going to be able to make it out to atlanta for the HUB homecoming.  i was really wanting to go out there and spend the weekend with freckles and enjoy seeing all of my friends again.  i was going to stay with rissa’s family but i think her parents are going to be out of town that weekend and so staying at her house is no longer an option.  i wouldn’t mind staying at someone else’s house excpet that i would want to spend most of my time with rissa and i would feel bad staying and someone’s house and then not really spending any time with them.  i would be taking off pretty early saturday morning to go to the homecoming and not getting back til late saturday night, leaving for church sunday morning, anf then flying out that evening. i do have one idea that may work actually.  it just came to me as i was typing this.

i bought an iPhone.  i gave in and went ahead and did it.  it is amazing and i don’t regret it at all.  i am a little fearful that some of the horror stories i’ve heard will come true.  things like the screen not working for very long and such.  but time will tell and we’ll see.  i do think that it doesn’t do some things i think it should do though.  like bluetooth to my computer, old phone, friend’s phone or computer and so on.  i can bluetooth to my headset but that’s it.  i also think it should be able to send pics or music through texts.  i believe that iTunes is to blame for that though.  they are so restrictive on their music that my theory is they don’t want to free up the pathways for people to transfer music.  i also wish it could handle java and other web based scripting.

i think i’m going to stop writing now.  it’s kinda late and i am full of nyquil and when i started typing this seemed like a good idea.  not so much anymore. 

yesterday’s post is no longer relevant.  i mean it is but things have moved on to the point that it doesn’t bother me anymore.  without boring you with details,  things are alright.

i got a new job.  i work for a company called gateway supply inc.  we are a procurement company.  the basis of what we do is supply our clients with the materials they need.  our main client right now is a mine in africa that has troubles when trying to get materials for their mine site.  it is a huge company and they are pretty much self sufficient (kinda like a small community) so they need all kinds of stuff.  a few of the things they have purchased since i’ve been working there are a 22″ diameter propeller for a work boat, supplies to build a pool, 12 washing machines, welding goggles, life vests, 40,000 feet of cable, and 1200 feet of 10″ conduit.  apparently, we supply them with anything from shirts to trucks.

my job is to actually find these items for sale from a vendor.  i spend most of my day calling people and seeing if they will quote us a price for a particular item.  if they do, i take that price along with any other quotes and put together an invoice for our client.  then we send it to them and they decide whether they actually want to make the purchase or not.

i like it a lot.  there are a lot of strategies that i am lacking when dealing with the vendors.  we have to be a little pushy to make the process go fast but if we’re too pushy, they won’t bid and then we’re out of a vendor.  so i have to try to build a good working relationship with people so that they want to send me a bid quickly.

and they pay me pretty well too which is nice.

i heard about the job from a friend of mine.  we were texting one night and i mentioned that i was looking for a job and she asked me if i wanted her to get me and interview.  after about .2 seconds of thought i said yes and i had a job 3 days later.

this same friend (megan) has kind of grown on me.  her brother (nathan) and i both went to youth congress and really hit it off while we were there.  i had a great time hanging out with him and it didn’t stop when we got back.  i’ve spent a lot of time at their house and with them and it’s really been great.  i have been spending most of my time since i’ve been here with family and while i love them, it’s kind of nice to have friends that i don’t live with.  i would hang out with rob more oftenexcept that he works nights and sleeps during the day so it makes things difficult to do so.

but i’m really enjoying the changes in my life right now.

i started school last week and i have not heard back from the air force yet.  i plan on calling them on monday because wednesday will be 28 days from when they told me i was disqualified. 

my BEST friend IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD AND ALL OF THE UNIVERSES COMBINED INCLUDING ANY AND ALL PARALLEL UNIVERSES IN EXISTENCE came out to see me this past weekend. it was as good as i had hoped it would be and much shorter than i ever thought it would be. except for the time she spent asleep, we used every possible moment to hang out and catch up on each other’s lives. and really, a lot has changed in each of our worlds which is a good thing.

so i took her around the city a little bit and together we decided that the west side of houston is much prettier than the east side where i live. we wound up driving 45 minutes to the other side on saturday to get thai food from a restaurant with good reviews. it was good but i’m not sure what we got was worth the hour and a half drive time. and believe it or not, she didn’t even come close to falling asleep on the mini road trip!

we also ate dinner friday night with my best friends out here…the newlyweds. and i took her to church with me on sunday and then had to take her to that dreaded place after lunch.

all in all it was an amazing weekend. way too short but much needed as well. i really have missed her and while that hasn’t changed, i feel some better after having gotten a riss fix and restocked on hugs.

and that’s really the jist of it. i have been trying to get into the swing of things over here. some issues i’m dealing with are getting my car registered before it expires in a couple of weeks, paying the rest i owe on a tux for a wedding, and living out of boxes.

i don’t actually live in my room yet. i am going to be staying with my sister and brother-in-law for a while and they have a room all set up that am going to use. but it’s not quite ready yet. see, they are adding on to their house and as part of that addition, a new master suite is being created. the room i am going to be occupying is the current master bedroom. as of now, they have just moved into the new master suite so the old master bedroom is vacant. but they would like to redo the ceiling, move a door, and lay down new carpet before i move into it. unfortunately, because of scheduling, that probably won’t happen for another week or so. in the meantime, all of my stuff is still in the trailer we moved it over in and it is making living very difficult. i’m just glad i didn’t pack my computer!

in other news, i put my laptop case on ebay a couple of weeks ago to see if i could make a profit on it. nobody bought it for the price i was willing to accept. i was a little disappointed but not much. i painted it for me and i am happy with it. if it had sold, i would have done it all again with new parts and a new design. it would have been fun but not that big a deal. i still have a bucnh of ideas i would like to try but not enough money to buy laptop cases to do them with.

i already have tutoring jobs out here. i was here for three days when i already had one client lined up. on sunday, i was talking to the family at church and another mother overheard us discussing math tutoring and she decided she wanted her daughter to tutor over the summer as well. so i already have two clients for the summer which will be nice to supplement my income with.

also, this past weekend, the chorale from christian life college in stockton california came through houston on tour. my aunt and uncle are the deans of music there and were on the trip with their group. i went to a barbecue on friday and saw some old friends and got lost in beautiful eyes again (the same thing happened to me this time last year). then on sunday i went to a local church to hear them sing. those eyes were there again and true to form, my mouth and brain cut all lines of communication between each other and my heart seemed to forget what to do with the red stuff running through it and kept spazzing out.

on top of all of that, my mom was in town to see her kids (my sister and i) and her sister (the aformentioned aunt). so i got to spend a belated mother’s day with her.

all in all, things are going well despite not having enough money.

and i miss my best friend more than i ever thougth i would. i was expecting the heavy heart and the teary eyes but the gut wrenching pain of knowing she’s not around was a shock for me. in a way, i don’t want it to go away. having the pain there reminds me just how much she means to me.

tomorrow is the day.  i spent last night and today packing up my room.  it amazed me at how little i actually had while at the same time amazed me at how much i got into this little room.  just when i thought i was done packing, i’d remember another drawer or cabinet and get another whole box full.

but now my room is pretty bare and i’m just waiting on kurtiss to get here.  see, my wonderful brother-in-law volunteered to drive out here all the way from houston with his truck and box trailer to transport all of my stuff out there.   i’m sure he’s had better days but it’s going to be a huge help.  in fact, i’m not sure if i could swing it without him doing this.  i definitely couldn’t afford a one way u-haul.

i’m in the process of tying up loose ends here.  i’m turning in keys, saying goodbyes, and taking care of other general business.

i won’t be able to tie up one end though…not ever i don’t think.  i’m having to leave my best friend in the whole world and it’s tearing me apart.  i have to say goodbye today and i am really not looking forward to it.  i can’t imagine that string will ever be tied off. 

i put my laptop together on thursday. i think it looks amazing. it is a high gloss black so the paint is going to show all finger prints and oil smudges from my hands but that’s ok. i plan on carrying a soft, buffing cloth in my bag to wipe those off. the best part is that now i have a unique piece of machinery. no one else’s is like mine! i will be posting some high quality before and after pics later on flickr and i’ll let you know when i do.

in other news, i went to my second LAN party this saturday and, once again, had a great time. it’s amazing to me how much fun it is sitting in a room for 8 hours in front of my computer playing online games with a bunch of friends. so much fun that i missed half of the NASCAR race to stay and game some more. i am glad that i went home to watch the finish though because jeff gordon had a historical race today. it was his first win ever at phoenix, the first time anybody has ever won from the pole at that track, and his 76th career win which ties him with the late dale earnhardt. plus it gives him an extra 10 points in the chase and a solid lead in the standings. if only the braves had won today…